UPDATE: Hudson police standoff ends; person in custody

By APRIL GUILMETUnion Leader CorrespondentMarch 11. 2014 6:39AMHUDSON - An eight-hour standoff ended peacefully Tuesday morning after a police K9 led them to the apartment where the suspect was hiding.

Armed with a search warrant, Hudson Police had arrived at the residence of Nicholas Boucher, 19, shortly before 11:30 p.m. Monday evening, but upon their arrival, Boucher wasn’t inside the 23 Central St. apartment.

Hudson Police Captain William Avery said Boucher was wanted on three charges of reckless conduct with a firearm. A shotgun and a rifle believed to have been used in previous crimes were found on the premises and seized by police.

Avery said police returned a short time later when an officer spotted Boucher inside the home, leading local police to stage around the site’s perimeter.

“We made several attempts to reach this suspect by phone, then we tried using a P.A. system,” Avery said. “Neither of those methods was successful.”

By 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Avery and Hudson Police Chief Jason Lavoie contacted the Southern New Hampshire Special Operations Unit, and the decision was made shortly after to activate the team.

Police set up barricades along Central Street as negotiators continued efforts to contact Boucher, who remained barricaded inside the apartment building.

Nearby apartments were evacuated, and the section of Central Street stretching between Ferry and Chase streets was closed for hours early Tuesday morning.

Shortly after 8 a.m., a police K-9 led officers to Boucher and took him into custody.

“We found him hiding in between two mattresses,” Avery said. According to local property records, the turn-of-the century home, which houses three apartments, is owned by Harold Miller of Hampton. Miller couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

According to Avery, Boucher remains in custody and will face additional charges, though those charges had not yet been determined shortly before noontime on Tuesday.

The standoff put the morning routines of neighbors and nearby businesses on hold for several hours Tuesday morning.

Boucher is already known to local police, having previously been arrested over the years for various charges. In February 2012 he was arrested and charged with several counts of criminal mischief and vandalism, according to police logs.

At Malley Electric, located at 1 Central St., the road closure meant workers were unable to access their shop and get their trucks on the road until the standoff ended. By 10 a.m. it was back to business as usual.

“Our hats are off to the Hudson Police for being able to safely resolve this,” company officials posted on their Facebook page. Teresa Paquin, owner of Anika Skincare at 3 Central St., said she heard about the standoff in the morning news and contacted police before heading over to her shop.

“We’re off to a late start today,” Paquin said at 10:30 a.m. “But the good news is everybody’s safe.”AGuilmet@newstote.com

Earlier story follows:

UPDATED: HUDSON - A standoff with police on Central Street is over and one person is in custody, according to authorities.

Police said earlier they were dealing with a "barricaded subject" and had closed Central Street, from Ferry to Chase streets. They asked the public to stay away form the area until the situation was resolved.

At 8:50 a.m., police were still on the scene and the street remained closed.